White House Announces Major Overhaul to U.S. #Immigration System

Speaking from the Roosevelt Room at the White House Wednesday morning, President Trump expressed support for the Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment Act, RAISE, in an effort to shift America's immigration system away from low-skilled labor to one based on merit and skills. If passed, the legislation would represent the largest overhaul of the U.S. immigration system since the 1960s.

"Struggling American families deserve an immigration system that puts their needs first," the President said. "The RAISE Act ends chain migration and replaces our low-skilled system with a new points-based system."

"The green card reforms in the RAISE Act will give American workers a pay raise by reducing unskilled immigration," he continued.

The President, standing with Republican Senators Tom Cotton and David Perdue, argued the influx of low-skilled immigrants has greatly disadvantaged working class Americans by depressing wages and eliminating jobs.

"We're not committed to working class Americans and we need to change that," Senator Tom Cotton, a co-author of the legislation, said. "We bring over a million immigrants into this country a year. That's like adding the population of Montana."

"Our current system is over a half-century old. It is an obsolete disaster," he continued.

The legislation significantly limits legal immigration, by 15 percent, and favors immigrants who have strong English language abilities. It prioritizes immigrants who have high skills to benefit the American economy and reduces eligibility for immigrants to receive welfare.

"The RAISE Act prevents new migrants and new immigrants from collecting welfare," the President said.

Replies to This Discussion

They should call this change "The enforcement Act", or "Rise from the dead act" There is nothing new with this law, it was there when I came to this Country in 1963. Been there, lived it with no Federal or State support, could not get a decent job till I became a citizen. It's more bluff my friend, employers will continue hiring illegal's, their back door is wide open, profits first.

A better fix is to go after employers, close their back doors, arrest them and throw them in jail.

There are a lot of things that need to be addressed. This effort does have some merit at least. As far as legal/illegal immigration is concerned, there are some relatively common sense fixes that should have been done many years ago:

1 - No state/federal monetary assistance of any kind.

2 - Fine businesses 100k for knowingly employing illegal aliens. That can eliminate a profit motive in a hurry.

3 - Jail Visa overstays for 1 year then deport them with no chance of re-entry.

4 - Eliminate the anchor baby loophole for citizenship.

5 - Stop allowing anyone but immediate family members from joining a migrant unless the migrant demonstrates an ability to provide for all that accompany him/her.

6 - No migrant can stay for more than 2 years without becoming a citizen.

7 - Must speak English.

8 - Must demonstrate a desire to assimilate to our ideals of a constitutional republic i.e. no Sharia Law practices etc.

9 - Build the damn wall on the southern border.

10 - Properly fund/equip border patrol and ICE.

This is a rough sketch off the top of my head. I'm sure there would be honing of the verbiage that would need to take place to be enacted properly.

Mark Levin praises Trump-backed RAISE Act: ‘OUTSTANDING’

Wednesday on "The Mark Levin Show," Conservative Review's editor-in-chief dove into that question as President Trump announced his support for the reintroduced RAISE Act, a bill to roll back the nation's unprecedented levels of unfettered immigration in favor of a merit-based immigration system.

Repeat what over and over again? Some of us weren't even born yet or were tiny toddlers!

We know there are laws on the books and have been for years. We also know those laws have not been enforced as well. We have been promised a border fence for decades. We also know the politicians in DC DO NOT want to stop the flow, especially the left. Tom Cotton is working with the President on new legislation.

The old laws haven't been updated for decades as well. Not new to this. First a member of Becks site, then another site for a few years, until myself, Jerseygal and Rahthrae decided to make our own site. This one!

I don't think he meant he's been telling us over and over. It's just a problem inherent with text. No facial expressions or tone to get a full understanding of how a statement was meant to come across.

I apologize if I came across the wrong way. I meant to educate those that did not know we had very stringent laws.

What I'm trying to say we had those same laws on the books in the fifties and sixties when I came here as an immigrant.

Laws are meant to be enforced and not diluted over the years. So hopefully we do it the right way this time.

Your No. 6 point might be a little to short. But after 5 years citizenship should be required or sent home where you came from. We have too many non-citizens in this Country. I have known Brits that came here during the Reagan years to work in the Aerospace industry. They came on a work permit visa but never went back home.

Yeah, we get what you were trying to say. As far as the length of time is concerned, 5 years would be my outer limit. Becoming a citizen to the country you are immigrating to should be one of your top priorities.

When my father was a kid in school, he had Italian neighbors whose parents could not speak English, and relied on their kids to translate for them. By the time he graduated high school though, they could speak some English. Point being, it's difficult to acquire assimilation if you cannot speak the native tongue. You end up with lack of understanding and division with several groups keeping to themselves with no real ability to communicate or understand one another. It's an imaginary wall with no bridge to a unified people. The country is then a house divided...